BULAWAYO residents account for 71 percent of the Bulawayo City Council’s $2.7 billion debtors’ book, with the local authority warning that poor revenue collection is constraining its ability to provide services.
Council finance manager Ndumiso Nkiwane disclosed the figures during This Morning on Asakhe, where he discussed the city’s 2026 mid-term budget review and the financial pressures facing the local authority.
As at June 30, domestic consumers owed council $1.9 billion, while industry and commerce owed $586 million and government departments owed about $200 million.
Nkiwane said the total debtors’ book stood at $2.7 billion.
On this topic
“When it comes to our debtors book we have three classes of people that we owe. We have classified them according to being government departments, then industry and commerce and then we have the whole domestic debtors there,” Nkiwane said.
“So our debtors currently sits as at 30 June, it was sitting at 2.7 billion. That’s the money that is out there within either government departments, Industry and Commerce or the domestic debtors.”
He said government departments accounted for seven percent of the debtors’ book, while industry and commerce accounted for 22 percent.
“And the bulk of the debt is sitting with our consumers, residency, domestic consumers in our townships, in our suburbs,” Nkiwane said.
“So those ones constitute 71 percent which is 1.9 billion.”
Nkiwane said the outstanding debt was affecting council’s cash flow and its ability to maintain and improve service delivery.
“When you talk of the debtors, you’re talking of the money that is out there which should be in here to deliver services. So in terms of service delivery this is highly constraining because most of my suppliers will say I need my payment on time so that I can continue to function,” he said.
“If I don’t have this money with me, it’s then difficult to continue to provide service at a level that I would have wanted to.”
He said collecting the $2.7 billion owed to council would give the city more capacity to buy equipment and other resources needed for service delivery.
“If this 2.7 billion was in the account today I can tell you we will be able to acquire some of these things, some of these rules of trade that we need in order to deliver services,” Nkiwane said.
He said cash-flow constraints were also affecting capital projects, including road construction and water infrastructure works.
“As of now I’m sure you are aware that the city is engaged in many road construction works ongoing. We also have a lot of pumping that we are replacing there. Now when we do not have this money, it then constrains us in terms of meeting the deadlines of putting new pumps or constructing of our roads,” he said.
“So we have quite a number of projects that are really dependent on this. We have tenders that are ongoing which probably I will not have or further, but they are all meant to be financed and this funding really will be very critical for us.”
Nkiwane said council’s debtors’ position was closely linked to its own creditors because the local authority also owes money to suppliers.
“Having said that, I also want to state that this debtors figure is closely linked to also our creditors. These are the people that we owe because sometimes we get services and then we are supposed to pay later,” Nkiwane said.
“But because we do not have this money it then becomes an owing on our part. So we then have to negotiate with them to say we’ll pay you later. Please allow us to try and collect so that we then clear ourselves.”
Revenue below target
Nkiwane said the mid-term budget review showed that council’s revenue performance was below projections.
Council had targeted billing $2 billion by the end of June, half of its $4 billion annual budget, but had billed $1.8 billion.
“Our billing was standing at 1.8 billion as at 30 June, so we were slightly lower than the anticipated billing of 2 billion which we’re supposed to bill,” he said.
He said council could end the year with revenue of between $3.8 billion and $3.9 billion, below its $4 billion target.
“So essentially this means as we walk towards the end of the year, we might not reach the 4 billion exactly as it is. Because of using the forecasting, we are most likely going to earn something like 3.8, 3.9 billion,” Nkiwane said.
He attributed part of the shortfall to water rationing, which reduces water consumption and, in turn, sewer charges.
“We are billing water. Water is a variable component because it depends on the consumption which is now dependent on the supply because we are on rationing,” he said.
“Then closely linked to water is the sewer, the sewer charges. Once we have less water, it means it also affects the sewer side.”
Nkiwane said council had collected $1.3 billion by June 30 from various revenue streams, including rates, rentals, clinic fees, water, sewer and refuse collection.
“The people, some have paid, some have not paid. But for those that have paid, their money is now as of 30 June, we collected 1.3 billion,” he said.
“And this money is spread across all the services that include the rate, the rentals, the people that go to the clinics to be attended, the people who consume water and the sewer, and also the solid waste management, which is refuse.”
Nkiwane urged residents to settle their council bills, saying improved collections would give the local authority more capacity to provide services.
“This really is an issue that probably I wish people look at it closely and say how can I clear my bill so that these services are provided at a better level than where we are now,” he said.
He pointed to ongoing infrastructure projects, including road rehabilitation along Lobengula Street and Herbert Chitepo Street, as examples of council work.
“You can see what is happening along Lobengula Street, probably everyone knows what it was like and what is happening now. We are also trying to make sure that most of these roads that are in the city center are quite passable. So you can see the construction that is going on, Herbet Chitepo is another one,” Nkiwane said.
He said some council work, particularly on water infrastructure, was less visible to residents, while new equipment had improved the local authority’s capacity.
“What probably the residents may not see is what is happening in the water supply. So these are some of the activities that are going on. Besides the equipment that we have acquired. I’m sure you’ve seen some yellow equipment that we acquired. And this then improves our capacity to, to deliver the services,” he said.
Nkiwane said council was also working to improve its response times to service delivery complaints, particularly sewer spillages and water-related faults.
“Then in terms of response time, I think for those that report sewer spillages and water based, we are expecting an improvement in that light because we are in the process of acquiring the tools of trade, in order to ensure we respond quickly to such, such situations,” he said.
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